Archive for ‘Gunbar’

I thought it was pretty neat that LEGO retroactively added Classic Space and Futuron astronauts in the color green. The original Classic Space-style astronauts turned up in the fan-designed “Exo Suit (#21109)” set in 2014, and the green Futuron astronaut appeared in the 2015 “City Square (#60097)” set of all places. They aren’t perfect recreations. The astronauts in the Exo Suit set of course have the newer-style helmet, and the Futuron uniform has extra detail that wasn’t present on the original. Still, they’re cool additions. But since they aren’t “authentic” to the original spacemen, I decided to give them a slight twist in the comic. You’ll of course learn more about what the heck is going on here at some point…

Unitron excited me when it came out because it was reminiscent of Classic Space, but it was a bizarrely short-lived series in the LEGO canon. There were only four sets released over two years, and one of them was the massive Monorail Transport Base! There was also Space Station Zenon, the Crater Cruiser (seen here) and the Star Hawk II (Why II? There wasn’t a Star Hawk I.) I only ever had the Crater Cruiser, but always wanted the sleek Star Hawk II. It seems to now be a rare and somewhat pricey set, but I might have to finally cave. (Merry Christmas to me…) Here’s a secret. You can add the parts list for a LEGO set to your want list on Bricklink, then use the “Easy Buy” feature to find all the parts in various Bricklink stores. Often, this will end up being cheaper than purchasing an intact set.

I believe the Crater Cruiser (#1787) from the short-lived Unitron series was the first LEGO set I purchased with my own money. Back then, I mixed all my parts together instead of keeping them by set like I do now. While this was better for creativity when building, it makes it harder to rebuild the original sets for use in the comic. Therefore, when I decided to include Unitron in the comic several years ago, I dug out the parts for the flying module of the Crater Cruiser and never got around to rebuilding the land vehicle. The Unitron pilot in the flying module became Ralph Gunbar and fit well into storylines, but it always bothered me that I never showed the rest of the vehicle. While recently visiting my Dad’s house, I FINALLY dug out the rest of the parts from my old storage bins and completed the Crater Cruiser. I couldn’t wait to put this sleek set in a comic, but realized I needed to explain who Gunbar’s (never-before-seen) partner was. Now you know.

There are several characters not included in this comic. Most of them were either featured recently or will be featured soon. I just wanted to touch base with some familiar faces, many who have not been spotted since before the comic went on hiatus!

Been awhile since I’ve written for Topless Robot, but my latest article focuses on the most ponderous action figures ever made by the Mego Corporation, like Disco Mugato and the grandmother from The Waltons!

Ever since I saw the LEGO zombies in Collectible Minifigures Series 1, I knew I had to make my own little zombie movie within the confines of the comic. And I think Zombies Vs. Little Red Riding Hood will be my next project.

I was going to use this post to ask you guys to support the fan-created LEGO “Shaun of the Dead” Winchester set posted on LEGO CUUSOO, but it just hit the 10,000 votes it needs to be considered by The LEGO Group as an officially-released set! This is amazing! Congrats to its creator, Yatkuu! Man, do I want this thing. An empty display shelf awaits it, and I have Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now” in my iTunes queue. Simon Pegg, Shaun himself, is to thank for getting this set the attention that it needed. He asked people to vote for it during an appearance on Conan O’Brien’s show, along with recounting a prank on his Twitter followers that was so devilishly awesome that the man must have a kinship with this comic’s own Commander Schwartz! Click the link in the previous sentence to watch the video!

This comic page was a satisfying one to create.”Bootlegs” is a long story, so it’s nice to begin a new chapter of it in a new setting. The setting is not new to the comic itself, as the Raven’s Port Bar has shown up many times; it’s one of the comic’s main locations. The respect just won by Schwartz follows his fairly regular assignment of being sent to break up bar fights between those uninhibited and wacky M:Tron scientists! The “Have You Seen Me?” poster is of course for Scouse, who went missing when he was abducted by aliens right outside the bar! Finally, Valkyrie sure made good on her golf-related promise from earlier in the story, didn’t she? FORE!